Physiological and Agronomic Performance Evaluation of Stay Green (SG) Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) Varieties at Shewa Robit, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia
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Date
2014-07
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Drought is one of the major constraints limiting crop production worldwide. Crop
growth models predict that this issue will be more severe in the future. Drought
impairs normal growth, disturbs water relations, reduces water use efficiency and
affects yield. Plants, however, have a variety of morphological, physiological and
biochemical responses at cellular and whole organism level, making it a more
complex phenomenon. A field experiment was conducted at Shewa robit to evaluate
the physiological and agronomic performance of different SG sorghum accessions. To
achieve this, three sorghum genotypes (Sorcoll 141/07, Sorcoll 146/07 and, Sorcoll
163/07) and a check (Afeso) accessions were used in the experiment. The experiment
was laid down in a randomized complete block design (RCBD). The data on
morphological, physiological and biochemical traits such as girth diameter, number
of tillers, total green leaf area, chlorophyll content, rate of leaf senescence, relative
water content, assimilation rate, WUE, SDW, RDW, RSR, leaf proline, nitrogen,
protein, soluble sugar contents, and yield revealed significant difference among
accessions at P < 0.05. Afeso and Sorcoll 163/07 showed better stress tolerance and
SG property. These accessions were also selected for their maximum grain yield per
hectare, while accession Sorcoll 146/07 was selected for its early maturity.
Correlation analysis revealed that GD, number of tillers, chlorophyll content, GLA,
RWC, WUE, lower rate of leaf senescence, SDW, RDW and RSR had significantly
positive relation with grain yield per hectare and have been found to be effective
screening tools for stress tolerance and SG property. So, they can be used in sorghum
breeding program.
Key words/ phrases: Agronomic performance; Biochemical traits; Sorghum
accessions; Stay-green; Stress tolerance.
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Keywords
Agronomic performance, Biochemical traits, Sorghum accessions, Stay-green, Stress tolerance